The Gospel of Yes Daily Reflection for Dec. 22, 2023
DECEMBER 22, 2023
FRIDAY OF THE THIRD WEEK OF ADVENT
A YES WITH THE GREAT YES OF JESUS
OPENING PRAYER:
COME, HOLY SPIRIT. I welcome you into my heart as Mary did. Come with power. Help me to offer my own yes to God the Father, saying with trust: “May it be done unto me according to your word.”
TODAY’S THOUGHT:
Our yes draws its power from the great yes of Jesus. His yes to the Father is the archetype, the pattern, and the source of power for all of our yesses. While free and uncoerced, Mary's yes itself drew its power from the great yes of Jesus. The yes of the Son makes all of our yesses possible. This is such good news for us! We don't have to say yes to God by our own strength. We freely cooperate, but Jesus supplies supernatural power to help us say yes.
St. Paul describes the great "yes" of Jesus:
2 Corinthians 1:17-20
”Do I make my plans according to human considerations, so that with me it is “yes, yes” and “no, no”? As God is faithful, our word to you is not “yes” and “no.” For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not “yes” and “no,” but “yes” has been in him. For however many are the promises of God, their yes is in him; therefore, the Amen from us also goes through him to God for glory.”
Jesus reaffirms his yes to the Father throughout his public ministry: when Satan tempts him in the desert, as he draws close to his passion, at the Last Supper, in the Garden of Gethsemani, and on the Cross. His yes to the Father is our salvation. And when we join our yes to him, it supplies us with the power to give a sincere and faithful yes as he did.
So don't be afraid to pray and ask the Lord to provide you the help and grace you need to offer a generous yes to him!
TODAY’S PRAYER:
Pray through these verses:
Philippians 4:19-20
My God will fully supply whatever you need, in accord with his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father, glory forever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 10:5-7
For this reason, when Jesus came into the world, he said: “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”
In uniting ourselves to Jesus, we share in his yes to the Father. He helps us to make his words our own: "Behold, I come to do your will, O God." Allow these verses to soak into your heart today, especially into those areas where you are struggling to say yes.
FOR YOUR REFLECTION:
Rogier van der Weyden, The Crucifixion. 1443.
At the foot of the cross, Mary shares in her Son's yes. She is one with him, in his pain and suffering, and in his offering to the Father. In van der Weyden's painting of the Crucifixion, we see Mary embracing the Cross. This is not just a physical act; it is also what is happening within her own heart. Mary's yes to God extended all the way to the Cross. But her power and strength to do that came from her son. Mary drew power to keep saying yes from her son's great yes to the Father. Mary is so united with Jesus that she gives herself to the Father and his plan along with her son.
Looking more closely at Our Lady, we see the tears streaming down her face. The artist captures the great lament of Jeremiah whose words are traditionally seen as words that can be spoken of the Virgin Mary in her sadness at the death of her son:
"Let my eyes stream with tears night and day, without rest,
Over the great destruction which overwhelms the virgin daughter of my people, over her incurable wound." (Jeremiah 14:17)
Just as Mary shares in her son's sufferings, so too will she share in his joy, on the third day. In the background, van der Weyden has painted the heavenly Jerusalem, a sign of the Lord's victory and the sharing of all the faithful in his victory over sin and death.
For your continued prayer today, offer one of the Prayers of Surrender and Abandonment to God, in union with Mary, drawing strength from Jesus' great yes to the Father.